Police Fellows

Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr., is a sixth generation native of Walton County and a 25-year law enforcement professional. Sheriff Adkinson holds a BA in Criminology from Florida State University and a Master's in Criminal Justice from St. Leo University. He is a past Commissioner for the Commission on Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, the past President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association, and is a current member of the Board of Directors for the National Sheriff’s Association. Additionally, Sheriff Adkinson is a member of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute and Police Fellow at Radford University. Sheriff Adkinson has lectured at the university level on law enforcement issues. Prior to being elected as Sheriff, he served as the Chief of Police for the City of DeFuniak Springs. In 2012, a team of state law enforcement assessors reviewing operations at the Sheriff's office reported that under Sheriff Adkinson's leadership the Walton County Sheriff's Office has become one of Florida's premier law enforcement agencies. The role of the Office the Sheriff has expanded over the last decade to encompass; 911 Communications, Law enforcement operations, Jail operations, Walton County Fire Rescue, State Child Protection Investigations and Animal Control Sheriff Adkinson was first elected in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012, 2016 and again in 2020 with no opposition.

Chief Shon F. Barnes was hired as Madison Police Department's Chief of Police by the Police and Fire Commission (PFC) in February of 2021. Chief Barnes is a nationally recognized leader in crime reduction and community-police relations. He was previously the Director of Training and Professional Development for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability in Chicago, Illinois. Chief Barnes was the Deputy Chief of Police in Salisbury, North Carolina (2017-2020) and a Captain with the Greensboro Police Department (NC) where he began his career as a patrol officer in the fall of 2000. Chief Barnes was honored as a National Institute of Justice, LEADS Scholar, for using innovative technology to reduce crime and is a council member on the National Police Foundation's Council on Policing Reforms and Race. The council is a nonpartisan initiative which uses research and evidence to consider and offer recommendations to resolve some of the most pressing issues regarding police reform. Throughout his career Chief Barnes has implemented Neighborhood Oriented Policing which focuses on smaller police beat response, police neighborhood ownership, and community engagement at levels within the organization. Chief Barnes attended Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) where he received a B.A. Degree in History/Pre-Law, and the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) where he received a master's degree in Criminal Justice. He has earned a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Greensboro, North Carolina).

Chief Scott Booth started his law enforcement career with the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department in 1996, where he served for nearly twenty years. While serving with the Richmond Police Department, Chief Booth focused on the reduction of violent crime, community engagement, and working proactively with neighborhoods to effectively recognize and respond to problems. In August 2015, he joined the Metropolitan Washington (DC) Airports Authority, as the Deputy Chief of Operations and then as the Chief of Police. In July 2017, he served as the Deputy Federal Security Director (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) for the Charlotte, NC region, until he became the Chief of Police for Danville, Virginia, in February 2018.  As chief in Danville, he focused on community engagement and reducing violent crime, specifically gang-related crime in the community. In October 2023, Chief Booth was sworn in as the Chief of Police in Roanoke, Virginia. In 2020, he was awarded the Excellence in Policing Award from Radford University’s Center for Police Practice, Policy, and Research; in 2022, the Excellence in Virginia Government – Innovation in Government Award from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University; and in 2023, the National Gang Crime Research Center’s Frederic Milton Thrasher Award for Superior Leadership in Law Enforcement. Chief Booth has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond in Human Resource Management and Leadership Studies, a MS in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate in Criminal Justice from Pennsylvania Western University.  He is a graduate of the 268^th session of the FBI National Academy, the 48^th session of PERF’s SMIP, and VACP’s PELS at the University of Richmond. He currently serves as a member of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) executive committee (Vice President), Vice-Chair of the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, and as a member of the Forensics Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.  He is a proud veteran of the United States Army as well as Operation Desert Storm, where he was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

Major William D. Crotty has been a member of the Delaware State Police since 1997.  During his tenure, he has served in several capacities to include Uniform Patrol, Special Operation Response Team (SWAT), Violent Crimes Taskforce (GTF), and the Special Investigations Unit.  Major Crotty’s is the former Director of the State of Delaware’s Fusion Center, the Delaware Information and Analysis Center (DIAC), and assisted in the development of the Delaware State Police’s  Real Time Crime Center. During his time in the Fusion Center, Major Crotty developed statewide connectivity with all law enforcement record management systems and corrections data.  This data integration allowed for the development of a statewide crime mapping program and a statewide investigative information sharing platform.  Major Crotty is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is a four year letter winner on the Men’s Lacrosse team. Major Crotty attended the 248th session of Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.

Maris Herold served as Chief of the Boulder, Colorado Police Department for nearly four years, leading her community and agency through evidence-based innovation and reform. She began her professional career as a social worker, serving as a sexual assault investigator and a juvenile psychiatric intake worker, before joining the Cincinnati Police Department in 1993. Throughout her tenure at CPD, Chief Herold developed and implemented several notable initiatives, including mental health response teams, numerous place-based crime reduction efforts, and ethical and constitutional responses to address community needs associated with homelessness and substance abuse issues. In addition, her collaboration with public and private entities led to neighborhood stabilization and affordable housing opportunities in underserved communities. In 2016, she retired from the CPD and joined the University of Cincinnati Police Division (UCPD), first as Assistant Police Chief, followed shortly by a promotion to Police Chief in 2018. She was the first female police executive to hold either position within the UCPD. Chief Herold has received several awards for her community collaboration and large-scale problem-solving projects to reduce crime and improve services for at-risk populations, including the 2016 Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement and Problem-Solving Award, the 2017 and 2022 Herman Goldstein Awards for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing, and the 2023 Excellence in Policing Award from Radford University’s Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research. She was inducted into the George Mason University's Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame in 2022. She holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police. 

Dedicating nearly 32 years of service with the Delaware State Police (DSP), Retired Colonel Nathaniel McQueen, Jr. was appointed by Governor John Carney to serve as Secretary for the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) on July 13, 2020. Secretary McQueen began his service career as a Sergeant in the U.S Marine Corps and remains loyal to those core values today. Throughout his career at DSP, Secretary McQueen held many leadership positions. He served as Superintendent for the last 8 years, making him the second longest serving Superintendent in the agency’s history.   He has received national accolades from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators as the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement in Highway Safety Award. In addition, he received the 2019 Excellence in Policing Award from the Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research at Radford University for his innovative strategies that brought change and improved policing. Secretary McQueen earned a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science from Wilmington University and a Master of Science in Social Work from Delaware State University. He is also a graduate of the 209th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, the FBI National Executive Institute, and the   Anti-Defamation League Counterterrorism Training.

Deputy Chief Rich Meeks has been an innovative forward-thinking police executive with over two decades of extensive operational, investigative, and project management experience with the Fort Myers, FL Police Department. His expertise lies in implementing data-driven and strategic methodologies towards crime reduction while simultaneously fostering partnerships with his community, key stakeholders, and city leaders. He has focused throughout his career on developing, implementing, and institutionalizing initiatives and programs through the use of best practices, strategic partnerships, and proactive leadership. Deputy Chief Meeks has served in and assisted a wide variety of units and divisions within the Fort Myers Police Department to include Patrol, SWAT, Narcotics and Special Investigations, Criminal Intelligence, Digital Forensics, Technical Operations, Internet Crimes Against Children, Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), Crime Gun Intelligence Center, Internal Affairs, Hiring and Recruiting, and Accreditation, and has been instrumental in designing and implementing the Fort Myers Police Department’s state-of-the-art Technical Operations Center which includes a RTCC, Crime Gun Intelligence Center, Digital Forensics Lab, and Technical Operations Support Team.  Additionally, Deputy Chief Meeks served on a variety of federal and state law enforcement taskforces, including the South Florida Internet Crimes against Children Taskforce, FDLE's Electronic Surveillance Support Team and Region 6 High-Tech Cyber Crime Task Force and the US Secret Service’s SW Florida Financial Crimes Strike Force. He also implemented the Department’s intelligence-led Stratified Policing Model which focuses on crime reduction, community engagement, and accountability at all levels of his department. Deputy Chief Meeks is graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

Assistant Chief Leo Niemczyk has over 27 years of law enforcement experience. He began his law enforcement career with the New York City Police Department in 1996. During his tenure, he completed field training in the 43rd precinct in the Bronx and was later assigned to the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park Queens and later the Queens South Auto Larcency Unit. Leo was highly decorated by the NYPD and made the Sergeant's promotional list. On September 11th, 2001, and during the following months, he responded to the World Trade Center where he worked search and rescue. In October 2002, he was sworn in as a Police Officer at the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Assistant Chief Niemczyk rose through the ranks and has worked in a variety of assignments at every rank during his career including the Neighborhood Policing Bureau, Criminal Investigations Division, and the District Support Division. He has served as Commander of all districts within the city, the district Support Division, the Criminal Investigations Division as well as the Honor Guard and Crisis Negotiation Teams. He also established the Peer Support Team and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Police in November 2023. Throughout his career and as a leader in the agency, Assistant Chief Niemczyk has been committed to implementing evidence-based practices and proactive crime reduction strategies.  His agency has seen exceptional reductions in crime over the last decade, and Port St. Lucie is consistently one of the safest cities in the US.  Leo earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from State University of New York. He completed his master’s degree in public administration from Barry University and is a graduate of the University of Louisville Southern Police Institute Administrative Officer's Course, Class 137.